Marshall JCM800 & Soldano SLO-100 vs SLO-30 | How different do they REALLY sound?

H

harddriver

Well-known member
I came across Zach Wish's YT video and found it interesting. I have always maintained small wattage amps sound and feel small in the punch department. But in this videoI found the lower wattage amps into a reactive load to IR's recorded they sounded pretty close to one another in this video..... Now the live playing experience is another story IMHO.
 
Years ago in a band the other guitar player had a 50watt Marshall JMP and I had a 100 watt. On open rehearsal night after a few beers guitars would get really loud.
The 50 would easily keep up to about 6 volume wise. Mind you at that level drums would start to get drowned out. We’re talking thrash metal.
In a band setting I’m going to say 50 watts is a baseline. And those Marshall’s were crazy loud.
 
My SLO 30 will absolutely hang with my 100 watt PWE and 2555x in terms of gig volume punch and feel.

No experience with the Studio Marshall, but based on the clips above it didn’t have the depth of the 100 water. The Soldanos were REALLY close.
 
M@tt C said:
My SLO 30 will absolutely hang with my 100 watt PWE and 2555x in terms of gig volume punch and feel.

No experience with the Studio Marshall, but based on the clips above it didn’t have the depth of the 100 water. The Soldanos were REALLY close.
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There is a difference in punch and feel between my 72 Marshall 50 watter and my 68 or 79 100 watters. It's mostly attributed to the mass of the output transformer. I have to respectfully disagree with your observation. The 100 watters always sound and feel bigger and punch harder.

The only exception is 50 watt amps that use a 100 watt output transformer wired to run at 50 watts like the Mojave Scorpion amp. It's essentially like pulling two tubes in a 100 watter. I have confirmed this since I run my 68 100 watt plexi with two tubes pulled and variaced down 70-85ACV the amp still hits harder and feels bigger than my 72 Marshall 50 watter running at wall voltage with both at the same volume.

I agree with the recorded tones of the SLO30 and SLO100 sounding super close almost indistinquishable but in the video he describes it as the lower wattage amps running out of headroom in a live setting and I fully agree with that assessment with my own experiences with lower wattage amps over the years.

https://legendarytones.com/mojave-ampworks-scorpion/
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

Mojave Scorpion (Cover Removed)The Scorpion has components mounted on a turret board, wired up very cleanly in an all point-to-point fashion. To many amp and tone purists, this style of build is the best method to use even though it is much more labor and time-intensive. It’s how most tube amplifiers were built in the ’50s and ’60s and is virtually non-existent today as far as mass-production name brands are concerned.

The transformers and choke are custom-specified and built Mercury Magnetics units. The output transformer in particular is of interest. It’s a larger unit that would be seen more often in 100 watt models. Victor Mason states that there was more to this integration than simply taking a 100 watt specified output transformer and using it for the Scorpion’s 50 watt design.

All technical challenges aside, the Scorpion chassis is housed in an attractive birch-ply cabinet lined with silver piping and steel cross-patterned vents for the front and back. A nice final cosmetic touch is the fact that the panels themselves on the chassis are laser engraved rather than being silk-screened.
 
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You can hear it in these two clips by Chragginshred.... SLO30 verusus the SLO100 which amp sound bigger? I'm not saying the SLO30 doesn't sound great... I assuming he used the same method to record his clips.


Here's the SLO100 with some volume behind it.....
 
When mike still modded marshalls I had one done 90-91 for $400. It was just preamp and there wasnt that much changed that i could see but im not electronics guy
 
The SLO 100, sounds more modern, with a tighter/beefier low end. The eq is way more responsive then the Marshall.
The Marshall is more brash and raw sounding.
There are qualities I like with each amp.
I feel like the Soldano is built more consistent as well, some Marshall’s I’ve played sounded different from each other.
The SLO 30 sounds *almost * identical to its 100 watt counter part. However, I prefer the 100watt since I felt like it sounded bigger.
All 3 amps are great in their own right.
 
My beef with low wattage amps is I hate the way small head shells look on a 412. I wish they had options to get them full size (like Budda did with their amps)
 
To me in the first two Craggin clips, the SLO30 actually sounds better. The 100 sounds like he dialed it in more "beamy". Though that's likely from being boosted. It makes the big amp sound narrow.

The 30, which he likely is running the same way because most of his clips are boosted, still seems to retain that top and bottom, and not just be a nasally honk tone.

FWIW, Youtube clips coming to me through a headset at work, so not the best judgement tool. But after getting an OG SLO for 2K 12 years ago, I am sure as hell not going to spend more than that for any variation on the amp anyways.
 
glpg80 said:
I compared a friend’s SLO 30 to an OG 5150 and in the room the difference in punch, big character, and overall headroom was not even a contest. The SLO 30 was sold the next day.

I prefer 100W amps.
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This is how I felt about the HR25, that folks were saying was indistinguishable from an SLO. Fast flip.
I do miss the JMP 2203 and Rev F for the HUGE sound they put out.
 
harddriver said:
There is a difference in punch and feel between my 72 Marshall 50 watter and my 68 or 79 100 watters. It's mostly attributed to the mass of the output transformer. I have to respectfully disagree with your observation. The 100 watters always sound and feel bigger and punch harder.
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100% agree. There is a major difference between a 50w and 100w of the same circuit. 100w Marshalls are a lot punchier and push air much easier. 50w's are no slouches, however. And they have a sweeter, more compressed feel. LPMojoGL's 2204 that I modded for him is plenty punchy and big sounding. It's not missing any of those dynamics. But there is a difference.
 
I have always maintained small wattage amps sound and feel small in the punch department
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With the way the world is these days with people literally living on top of each other I knew there was no way I'd ever be able to play through a 50 or 100 watt Marshall . Hell, even the 20 watt models are way way way too loud since I don't live in a place where I could even have the volume number at 4 let alone 10 . Sure, you can buy an attenuator but I shouldn't need to

I thought the ultimate at home jamming amp that wouldn't wake the entire neighborhood would be a 1 watt amp that had the exact tone of a much more powerful Marshall but playable at TV volume levels .

I came across the below video and to say I was floored is a HUGE understatement . HOLY SHIT ARE THESE THINGS AMAZING , Listen for yourself , short clips of popular rock classics.

FIRST UP IS THE JMP PLEXI 1 WATT .



(Lonely is the night) by Billy Squire



(Running with the devil) Van Halen



(Jamies Crying) Van Halen



(Lay it down) Ratt




JCM 800 1 WATT CLIPS BELOW:




Side note: The 1 watt DSL sucks and cannot be compared to these 1 watt Marshalls in any way shape of form.
 
SoooRad said:
To me in the first two Craggin clips, the SLO30 actually sounds better. The 100 sounds like he dialed it in more "beamy". Though that's likely from being boosted. It makes the big amp sound narrow.

The 30, which he likely is running the same way because most of his clips are boosted, still seems to retain that top and bottom, and not just be a nasally honk tone.

FWIW, Youtube clips coming to me through a headset at work, so not the best judgement tool. But after getting an OG SLO for 2K 12 years ago, I am sure as hell not going to spend more than that for any variation on the amp anyways.
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….And the amp becoming ‘narrow’ after being boosted, is the main reason my OD1X stays #1 for me. Keeps the amp open/wide sounding while adding those upper mids and slightly tightening it up.
 
RedPlated said:
100% agree. There is a major difference between a 50w and 100w of the same circuit. 100w Marshalls are a lot punchier and push air much easier. 50w's are no slouches, however. And they have a sweeter, more compressed feel. LPMojoGL's 2204 that I modded for him is plenty punchy and big sounding. It's not missing any of those dynamics. But there is a difference.
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+1
The MOAB, stock 2204 and EVH 50w Stealth all sound plenty big, but do not have the more open and punchy sound of a 100 watter, like @scottosan's ToneNerd 100w. That amp sounds huge.
I miss having a 100 watter.
 
LPMojoGL said:
I miss having a 100 watter.
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Sooooooo I did a thing

VideoCapture_20230103-073644.jpg
 
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